simple cameras which are sold pre-loaded with 35 mm size film, commonly referred to as "single-use cameras", have become well known recently. Each single-use camera is a point-and shoot type, and it comprises a plastic light-tight camera housing with a film cartridge receiving chamber and an exterior decorative cardboard cover or casing which snugly contains the camera housing. At the manufacturer, the cartridge receiving chamber is loaded with a conventional 35 mm film cartridge containing a perforated filmstrip in roll form, and substantially the entire length of the unexposed filmstrip is factory prewound from the film cartridge into a film supply chamber of the camera housing. After the user takes a picture, a thumbwheel or knob is manually rotated to rewind the exposed frame into the film cartridge. The rewinding movement of the filmstrip the equivalent of one frame rotates a sprocket wheel with teeth for engaging the filmstrip in its respective perforations to, in turn, decrement an exposure counter to its next lower number setting and to lock the thumbwheel until another frame is exposed. When the entire length of the filmstrip is exposed and rewound into the film cartridge, the single-use camera is given to a photofinisher who tears the exterior casing off the camera housing, takes apart the camera housing, and removes the film cartridge from the cartridge receiving chamber. Then, the film cartridge is broken open and the exposed filmstrip is withdrawn for processing. The reusable parts of the single-use camera may be recycled for use in a fresh camera with film.
Prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,882,600, issued Nov. 21, 1989, and No. Des. 321,704, issued Nov. 19, 1991, disclose a single-use camera enclosed in a plastic transparent water-resistant casing to enable the single-use camera to be used as an underwater camera. The thumbwheel or knob for rewinding the film frames into the film cartridge, following each exposure in the underwater camera, is positioned outside the water-resistant casing.